Decision time is only a few days away and my S is trying to decide between Kenyon College or Johns Hopkins for English/Writing. Any advice or alums out there familiar with the programs? S has visited both schools and attended classes at both. Any advice/thoughts are appreciated!
Kenyon is known for its writing program more than anything else and its creative writing program is one of the best in the country, if not the best. He’d certainly get tons of individual attention and presumably great feedback/coaching/editing there, classes are small, professors focused on teaching. I know a few kids there, and grads.
My impression of JHU is that undergrads sort of sink or swim there, but their writing program seems to be well regarded, as much so as Kenyon.
Other factors might break the tie. Urban/rural, LAC/U, MD vs OH, etc?
John Green is a graduate of Kenyon who’s quite successful as an author and a YouTuber.
While John Green did graduate from Kenyon, I think that the primary reason for his success is him, rather than his institution. I say that though I also think that Kenyon might be the better choice. John Green would probably be a successful writer regardless of where he went to school.
My impression of JHU is that it’s a good school, but that the atmosphere is rather competitive among the students, Kenyon feels less so. For my tastes, that’s the better choice.
Definitely Kenyon
I agree that Kenyon is a better choice overall. I am a Hopkins alum.The Hopkins program is great. So is the Kenyon writing department. Going to Hopkins is a strange experience. It’s gotten better in some ways but it still doesn’t have anything like the community that exists at Kenyon. I visited both schools within the past few weeks. The vibe is so much better and more nurturing at Kenyon. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t have gone to Hopkins, despite the excellent academics and entree to a top grad school. I would have gone to a school where the overall experience was more supportive and less diffuse.
If he changed his mind to a STEM field or to IR, academically he’d want to be at JHU.
But if he sticks with his current passion they’d both be great, so the decision should come down to fit and cost. Which felt more like home?
Thank you all for the feedback. I will share the info with my student!
Come back and let us know the choice.
They’re both great programs, so this has to be a lifestyle choice, right? I’m hard pressed to think of 2 schools with more different settings and culture.
I agree with all–they are both fabulous programs, so it’s mostly a matter of preferences. Maybe look over faculty to see if one has a writer or writers your student would like to work with.
I remember a few years ago there was a poster who was interested in genre writing and found that there were very fuew creative writing departments that were friendly.
Of course I can’t find them now, but I remember threads that specifically said that while JHU is pretty intense if you are in the sciences the humanites majors are much more relaxed and collegial.
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I would make the decision based on faculty.
Is JHU a competitive atmosphere even for non-premeds?
Wouldn’t the critical mass of pre-meds gunning for med school worthy GPAs end up affecting other students even in non-STEM classes?
Another vote for Kenyon.
For that major, I would pick Kenyon. If, of course, I liked the vibe and was pretty sure I wasn’t planning to defect to a major JHU offered that Kenyon did not.
The schools are such different places. Hopkins is definitely a competitive environment in the sciences, beyond what one can imagine. For Writing Seminars, it is less overtly competitive and excellent, and the professors are more engaged with undergrads than in some other discipline. Not as engaged as they are at Kenyon though. And the vibe at Hopkins in Writing Seminars is still a bit more edgy and just kind of amped up. Kenyon is a more relaxed place, and seems to give a student more time and space to grow. Hopkins works best for extremely driven people ready to hit the ground running and for whom community may be less important. That said, the intellectual community among writers is strong, albeit small and a bit different relative to the school as a whole. Maybe it comes down to whether you want to attend a major university with uber achievers in a city, or a LAC with a more of a relaxed feel and with students who are also driven. Or if you are a writer, in what setting do you see yourself creating best?
What kind of environment is he looking for? We found JHU to have an intense academic atmosphere, based on a visit. My daughter, who nearly attended Kenyon, did not get that vibe there. The settings are very different. I am sure there are no bad profs at any department at JHU, so he should choose the environment he wants to spend four years in.
I’m still scratching my head that a rural LAC and a major, urban research Uni are in the final two.